A Los Angeles County deputy district attorney who helped win the conviction of Michael Jackson's personal physician was appointed a judge Friday.

David Walgren, the lead prosecutor at last year's trial of Dr. Conrad Murray, was among eight attorneys named to the L.A. County Superior Court bench by Gov. Jerry Brown.

Walgren, a 43-year-old Democrat from Calabasas, worked on several high-profile cases during 16 years at the district attorney's office. He prosecuted a photographer accused of trying to blackmail actress Cameron Diaz and headed an unsuccessful 2009 attempt to extradite director Roman Polanski from Switzerland for sentencing in a three-decade-old child sex case.

His greatest attention came during Murray's manslaughter trial, a six-week televised proceeding covered by an international contingent of reporters.

In a closing argument that was widely praised, Walgren humanized Jackson by reminding jurors that the larger-than-life celebrity with a history of drug problems was a father whose three children adored and missed him.

Jackson fans applauded the prosecutor when he walked down the courthouse halls, and his performance sparked Facebook fan pages, including "David Walgren Is Hot."